


The Course of True Love

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, F/M, Fluff, post s3 fic, s3 divergent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 12:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9896735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: Feeling that something is very wrong about his curse, Rumpel goes behind Belle’s back to seek out his dagger and confirm his fears that soon, the darkness will be out of control. When he finds it, however, he gets the surprise of his life…[Takes place in a happy world that ignores the dagger switch at the end of S3Ep20 “Kansas”.]Written for the Monthly Rumbelling prompt: "Belle has the dagger and Rumple takes it back"





	

**Rated:** G

**Prompt:** Belle has the dagger and Rumple takes it back

**Summary:** Feeling that something is very wrong about his curse, Rumpel goes behind Belle’s back to seek out his dagger and confirm his fears that soon, the darkness will be out of control. When he finds it, however, he gets the surprise of his life…

[Takes place in a happy world that ignores the dagger switch at the end of S3Ep20 “Kansas”.]

**Word Count:** 1816

**=====**

**The Course of True Love**

He knew where the dagger was, of course. That had never been a secret between them. Trust went both ways, after all. That was what Belle had said when he had given her the ultimate power over him. She changed its hiding place often, for safety’s sake, but she always told him where it was. They could never rule out the possibility of some kind of magical emergency that would require its use, but Belle had always trusted him to tell her if and why he needed it back. He felt a little twist of guilt as he parked up the Cadillac at the town line and got out, taking a route through the forest due east in the direction she had told him four months ago. He should have said something to her, he really should, but truth be told, he was afraid, and he wanted to make sure that whatever it was that was happening to him could not harm her, or god forbid harm the baby growing snugly in her belly. No, this was something that he had to do alone, and hopefully Belle would understand that after the fact. If all went well, then she would never need to know about this little indiscretion.

He’d been feeling it for so long now that it could no longer be put down to a twinge or his senses being a little off. Something was definitely changing. He was changing. He did not feel the same man as he had been a little over a year ago when he had willingly surrendered the dagger to Belle and they had taken their vows.

And Rumpelstiltskin was absolutely terrified.

He knew that the curse of the Dark One was an insidious one, and he knew how black his heart must be from all the centuries of living with its corrupting influence, but he had thought that he had it under control. The hissing, whispering voices in the back of his mind had been less troublesome of late, and he had hoped that he had perhaps finally learned subconsciously how to shut them out and keep them down.

Now though he wasn’t so sure. Something was slipping. Whilst he couldn’t say that something was definitely _wrong_ per se, he was certain that something was different, and his ultimate fear was that this different thing was the loss of his ultimate control over his curse. He knew that the day would come eventually when it would consume him, but he had thought that it would not be quite as subtle as this. If he could get to the dagger, then perhaps that could provide a clue. When he was reunited with it, that faint singing in his veins would calm, and he would be able to feel the tendrils of his curse more clearly. If it truly was eating away at what little of his humanity remained, then he would need to act fast. Perhaps it was for the best that Belle had hidden it so close to the town line. He could leave easily then, just get in the car and go, leaving no trace, as much as it would break his heart to do so. He would let Belle know once he was safely away from her; give her a call and tell her that he left for her own safety, because the curse was slipping and he had to make sure that it did not hurt her or their unborn son.

He could feel the dagger calling to him across the final few feet, its magic singing like a siren to his own. Nearly there, only a few steps more.

Rumpelstiltskin reached the tree in question and waved his hand over the bark, finding the hidden niche easily. Belle had become a master of concealment potions over the last few months, an added extra layer of security to whatever hiding place she chose for their most dangerous possession. The dagger was there, exactly where he knew it would be, and on the face of it, nothing seemed changed. There was no immediate change in his magic, no increase in the fading voices in his head. Nothing to say that anything was amiss. He furrowed his brow; this was unusual. Usually his magic would have reacted to the dagger by now. He ought to be able to feel it. It was with trepidation that he reached out and picked up the dagger, expecting to feel the familiar surge of power through his veins.

There was a rush of warmth as the dagger bent to its true master, but it was nothing like how it had felt in the past. There was no feeling of heady intoxication, and Rumpelstiltskin could feel the panic coating the back of his throat. If it was slipping away from him, if he was losing control…

Then he saw it, and the revelation was such that he had to sit down, slumping on his knees in front of the tree and turning the dagger over and over in his hands, wondering what to make of it, how it had occurred, what it meant. Well, at least he knew that he wasn’t a danger to Belle, at least, he didn’t think he was. This was a good thing, if he had interpreted its meaning correctly. Really, he wanted Belle’s opinion on the whole thing, but there was a slight problem with that, in that she had no idea he’d come out here. She didn’t even know he’d been worrying.

Rumpelstiltskin didn’t know how long he sat there on the damp forest floor, just staring at the dagger in his hands and trying to make sense of it, but the next thing he knew, a clear, familiar voice was calling him.

“Rumpel? Rumpel, are you out here?”

He shot to his feet, staggering slightly when his legs refused to support him after so long curled beneath him, the dagger still clutched guiltily in his hand as Belle picked her way through the forest towards him. She raised an eyebrow when she saw it, stopping short.

“Are you trying to take the dagger back from me, Rumpel?” she asked. Her voice was level, but Rumpelstiltskin could tell from her expression that she was angry. “You know that if you just asked, we could have come here together.”

“I know,” Rumpel conceded. “I just… I had to come alone. I had to be sure.”

“Sure of what? If you don’t think it’s safe, then just tell me, we’ll hide it elsewhere. If you think you need it, then just tell me. Why go behind my back?”

Rumpel’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Because I was scared,” he admitted. “I had to be sure, I had to find out what was going on.”

“What _is_ going on, Rumpel?”

“My curse. It’s been… For months now, it feels like it’s been slipping through my fingers.”

“Getting weaker? Are you scared you’re losing your magic?”

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. “No, not like that. I’m not scared of that. I was more scared that it was slipping away from my control; that the darkness was taking hold and I wouldn’t be able to stop it. That it would take over and something terrible would happen. I’d never be able to live with myself if I hurt you or the baby because of this thing.” He paused. “That’s why I came to find it alone. So that I could take any… necessary measures.”

Belle came over to him, shaking her head a little. “You were going to leave to protect me?”

“If the curse was taking hold, yes. It would be best for everyone.”

“But…” Belle stopped, taking his free hand in hers. “You’re still here. And you’re not shaking me off, so you obviously don’t think you’re dangerous any more. So what’s happened?”

“I can honestly say that I don’t know.”

Rumpelstiltskin held up the dagger, showing Belle the writing thereon. His name was still there, but it was faded, barely a mark on the blade.

“You’re right,” he said. “When you said it was getting weaker. I hadn’t even realised that was what it was.”

“The curse is breaking!” Belle looked up at him, a wide smile on her face. “You’ve done it, Rumpel, you’ve beaten it!”

“Not quite yet.” His name was still there, after all, if no longer as strongly linked in to the dagger’s magic as it had been.

“You’re beating it, then.” She threw her arms around him and sighed happily against his shoulder, and Rumpel drew her in close automatically.

“I just wish I knew how,” he murmured.

Belle glanced up at him then, and gave him a look. “I think you might find, husband of mine, that it’s called ‘True Love Breaks Any Curse’.”

“But True Love’s Kiss…” Rumpel protested. “We have true love, of course I know that, but we’ve kissed so many times…”

Belle shrugged. “Yours is a complex curse, Rumpel. Maybe it understands just how complex True Love is. How long have you been feeling that it’s been slipping?”

“Months,” Rumpel admitted.

“As long as we’ve been married, perhaps?” There was a mischievous expression on Belle’s face now, and it was clear that his indiscretion in taking back the dagger without her knowledge was all but forgiven. “Or perhaps longer still, since you gave me the dagger in the first place and put so much faith and trust in me?”

Rumpel gave a nod of concession. “Probably. But the feeling’s been getting more intense since we conceived. That’s why I was so worried, I was scared that the curse was reacting viciously to the baby.”

“I’ll bet that it’s not True Love’s kiss that’s breaking your curse, Rumpel.” Belle grinned. “It’s True Love itself. We’ve worked for this love, we’ve worked at it and made it stronger and we’ve pulled through everything that it’s thrown at us. You can’t deny that we’ve had our ups and downs over the past year, it hasn’t all been rainbows and roses.”

Rumpel nodded. They’d had their fair share of arguments and moments of mistrust, but they’d pulled through them, they’d worked hard to keep their love alive and healthy.

“That’s what’s breaking the curse. The enduring love can break an enduring curse.”

She turned her face up toward him, lips inviting, and Rumpel couldn’t resist slanting his mouth over hers and capturing another kiss. When they finally broke away, both glanced over at the dagger, and Belle giggled. It was still unchanged, his name still there, but Rumpel hadn’t expected everything to be solved in one magical moment of True Love’s Kiss. It had never done it before. It would take work to break the curse, just as it would take work to maintain their relationship.

But they would do it in the end. He had no doubt of that.

 


End file.
